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JINSA National Leadership Visits U.S./Mexico Border at McAllen, Texas

March 06, 2019

JINSA National Leadership recently toured the U.S. border with Mexico at McAllen, Texas. The delegation was hosted by the U.S. Border Patrol and supported by Chief Carla Provost, a JINSA 2018 Homeland Security Program participant. JINSA Director of Homeland Security Program, Steve Pomerantz, led the delegation.

The JINSA leadership delegation's two-day visit included high-level operational, intelligence and technology briefings, as well as, presentations from the specialized units that protect our border. As part of our briefings, we learned that during a one-week period, an average of 7,000 migrants are identified crossing the border illegally in the Rio Grande area. This significantly impacts the Border Patrol's ability to secure our borders by tying-up resources and manpower with humanitarian diversions.

The delegation also visited different areas of the border, where in some places the only boundary between the U.S. and Mexico is the narrow Rio Grande river. Our delegation was briefed on Border Patrol processes and procedures, and we toured the Centralized Processing Center where illegal migrants are identified and processed.

JINSA visited both the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Pharr Port of Entry and the Falfurrias Checkpoint. Pharr International Bridge handles both commercial and passenger vehicles and Falfurrias Checkpoint is the most heavily trafficked inland checkpoint in the country, serving as a second border and last chance to stop illegal activity such as narcotics and human trafficking.

The delegation experienced first-hand the difficulties and complexities that Border Patrol agents face each day.

JINSA organizes base visits as part of our outreach efforts to ensure that our leadership better understands the work of the men and women who are keeping the U.S. safe, and to bring this knowledge back to their communities to advocate for strong U.S. national security policies. Similarly, we also educate law enforcement and U.S. military on the important national security policy work that JINSA does nationally and in their communities.